PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
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Fulbright winners
PULSE
Urban Action Lab
BC Law’s Ring, Woods College’s Tomic earn coveted awards.
Joshua Snyder is new director of BC’s signature program.
Students get close-up view on community issues.
PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
MAY 21, 2026 VOL. 33 NO. 18
COMMENCEMENT 2026
‘Your Ability to Aid, to Help, to Assist, Will Grow’ Archbishop Gallagher asks graduates to consider public service as calling BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
As the United States prepares to mark a significant historical milestone, the need for people devoted to service has never been greater—especially in one profession that might seem a dubious choice, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher told the Boston College Class of 2026 at the University’s 150th Commencement Exercises Monday in Alumni Stadium. “If you really want to help, if you want to aid others, if you want to serve,” said the archbishop, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, “consider going into politics.” His position as the Vatican’s foreign secretary often entails meeting politicians, Archbishop Gallagher explained, and while
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher speaking at Monday’s Commencement Exercises. photo by matthew healey
he doesn’t always agree with them, “I am consistently impressed by the sacrifice and commitment to the service of others that I see in them.”
Public servants don’t always have the best reputation, he acknowledged—and in some cases it’s well deserved—“but the work they do is essential, and often comes at personal cost, for themselves and even their families. It is not easy to be a politician today almost anywhere. The challenges they have to face are enormous and the decisions that they must make are far from easy or simple. “I have no doubt that as you look around the world today, there are things you would like to change, things that inspire you to act,” said the archbishop, adding his hope that the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence “will inspire more young people to consider the call to aid society through this work. You will not have an easy task, but you will certainly have my admiration, as indeed you have it in graduating today.” In addition to Archbishop Gallagher, who was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, the University presented honorary degrees to Glori Alvarez ’88, P’16,
an entrepreneur and a member of the BC Alumni Association; Joyce M. and William S. Cummings, co-founders of one of New England’s largest philanthropic foundations; Sister Jeanette Gaudet, M.F.I.C.,who has served for more than six decades with the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception; and Mathias Kiwanuka ’05, a former standout Boston College and NFL football player who now works on health issues and economic opportunities in his ancestral home of Uganda. [See the honorary degree citations on page 4] Also at the ceremony, Ryan Milligan received the 2026 Edward H. Finnegan, S.J., Award [see page 5] as the graduating senior who best exemplifies the University’s motto, “Ever to Excel,” while Clough School of Theology and Ministry Professor Thomas Groome was presented with the Saint Robert Bellarmine, S.J., Award in recognition of his distinguished career and significant role in advancing the
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Bullock Co-Leading NIH-Funded Palliative Care Project BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
Joan (not her real name) is a single mother whose pre-teen son Bob suffers from a serious chronic disease that often keeps him bed-ridden and unable to pursue activities like attending school or socializing with friends. She has to frequently change her work schedule so she can stay with Bob, or have a friend, neighbor, or family member do so while she is at her job. It’s a very stressful situation, one which she says is simply untenable, and difficult for others to understand—including some in the medical profession. But Joan now has an opportunity to share her first-hand perspective in a setting that could lead to meaningful changes for
her and individuals and families dealing with similar challenges: She is a member of the Lived Experience Action Panel (LEAP), part of a major National Institutes of Health-funded initiative directed by Boston College School of Social Work faculty member Karen Bullock. The NIH awarded a $64 million grant to establish the Advancing the Science of Palliative Care Research across the Lifespan (ASCENT) consortium, for which Bullock, the Louise McMahon Ahearn Endowed Professor at BCSSW, will serve as a co-investigator. ASCENT provides resources, expertise, and coordination among institutions to advance innovative, highquality research for those living with serious illness and those who care for them. Bullock’s specific task is to oversee LEAP, which is part of the Research and
Community Engagement Core, one of seven sub-sections (cores) in ASCENT. Among other undertakings, LEAP will compile and disseminate resources on health disparities and community-engaged research, and train and mentor palliative care scientists in these areas. The panel includes both seriously ill persons and caregivers, who provide a vital perspective in the nationwide struggle to improve the quality of and access to palliative care. “There is a great need to train the next generation of researchers in hospice and palliative care, so as to help recruit and prepare a workforce that will be able to provide that care,” said Bullock, a member of the BC Global Public Health and the Common Good program faculty. As LEAP’s director, Bullock has person-
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Karen Bullock photo by caitlin cunningham